A 'mysterious' mirrored monolith has appeared in Las Vegas, and officials don't know why

No, this isn't a scene from a remake of "2001: A Space Odyssey" titled "2024: A Las Vegas Odyssey," but it sure could be.

Just like in the Stanley Kubrick sci-fi film, a "mysterious monolith" has again appeared on Earth, this time in Sin City, and officials are stumped as to its origins.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department took to X on Monday to share news of the puzzling discovery found on a hiking trail near Gass Peak, located on the northern side of the city. Two photos included in the posts show the reflective, rectangular slab of metal standing tall amid the remote desert landscape.

"We see a lot of weird things when people go hiking like not being prepared for the weather, not bringing enough water... but check this out!" the post said.

"While the internet gets to work on this mystery," police also reminded the public to take precautions before visiting the object, including looking at the forecast and bringing plenty of water, food and a first aid kit.

This monolith is the latest to appear around the world since at least 2020 when a nearly 12-foot structure was found deep in Utah's desert and vanished days later, manifesting into a pandemic-era internet craze. Then came monoliths appearing and quickly disappearing in Romania, California, Colorado and again in Las Vegas, that time on Fremont Street, all in the same year. Most recently, a 10-foot steel structure appeared in Wales in March.

It's still unclear who's responsible for most of the installations. An anonymous group of artists took credit for the California and Utah monoliths, but when the BBC asked if they were the masterminds behind one found on an island off England's southern coast, the collective said, "The monolith is out of my control at this point. Godspeed to all the aliens working hard around the globe to propagate the myth."